Wine Advisor
Le Pin 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This exotic effort tends to perform incredibly well when young, middle aged, and old, and all the complaints heard when it is first released that it won’t age well have been proven absurd. The 2005's incredibly fragrant perfume of espresso roast, melted chocolate, cedar, plums, and kirsch soars from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored Pomerol. Opulent, even voluptuous, and loaded, it boasts an expansive, full-bodied palate yet good underlying acidity provides definition as well as precision to this blockbuster. Sadly, only 500 cases are produced each year, and those are gobbled up by the world’s billionaires. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This has one of the most arresting aromatics of any 2005. Incredibly pure wild strawberry, morello cherry, pomegranate and minerals. Brilliant definition. The palate does not quite match up though it is still splendid, with a gorgeous velutinous mouth feel. Harmonious red berried fruits, minerals and beautifully interwoven new oak. Elegant, with a slight grainy texture that gives it an extra dimension towards the finish. Superb. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Wow – this has come on leaps and bounds since I first tasted it out of barrel and then again in tank back in April 2007, this being perhaps the first time anyone has tasted out of bottle (or half-bottle in this case.) A sensuous, voluptuous nose of red-berried fruit, stony gravel, blueberries and hedgerow, but it is on the palate where the elevage has worked its wonders: much more harmonious, certainly greater weight and length than previously encountered, the new oak galvanizing the tannins and lending so much more persistency towards the long finish. A precocious, ambitious Le Pin that left it to bottling to show its true potential. Drink 2013-2030. Tasted September 2007.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As usual, the 2005 Le Pin (500 cases produced) is an exotic, aromatic effort offering gorgeous aromas of cedar, plums, black cherry liqueur, espresso roast, and chocolate. This full-bodied, rich, fragrant (the Thienponts call it the “Richebourg” of Bordeaux) effort possesses supple, velvety tannin and attractive sweetness and expansiveness, as well as good freshness and definition. It should continue to put on weight and evolve into another blockbuster from this tiny vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2025.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
While I would not rank the 2005 Le Pin as highly as the 2001, 2000, 1998, 1989, 1983, or 1982, it is still a beautiful wine offering a deep ruby/purple color along with an open-knit nose of caramel, coconut, coffee, melted chocolate, and sweet, jammy black cherry and currant fruit. The alluring fragrance is followed by an opulent, luscious Pomerol with flamboyant flavors of ripe black fruits intermixed with hints of roasted herbs, meat juices, plums, and Asian spices. Unfortunately, the world’s billionaires quickly gobble up Le Pin’s 500 cases, even at preposterously high prices. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Le Pin 2005 has a very sweet, candied bouquet that actually reminds me slightly of a Super-Tuscan, not in a bad way either. It is a complex set of aromas that bring to mind a burlesque: red cherries, soy, undergrowth, a sprig of heather and lavender. As usual it is one of the most opulent, lascivious Pomerols on the nose and returning to my glass over ten minutes it unfurls with careless abandon. The palate is medium-bodied with fine silky tannins. But it does not quite deliver the same sophistication on the second half that is quite linear, touches of coffee and marmalade with a hint of aniseed on the finish. This is a delicious, quite mercurial Le Pin that you could broach now, though I would prefer to leave it another three or four years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted single blind at Southwold. Layers of glycerine on the luxuriant nose, almost honeyed in texture with saturated plumy fruit that belies a sense of minerality underneath. A Merlot-driven entry: medium-bodied, not as tannic as I was expected but very elegant. Fine tannins, bright red-berried fruit, strawberry and a touch of redcurrant. Very opulent and lush towards the finish. Precocious. Drink 2013-2030+ Tasted January 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Bipin Desai’s Le Pin vertical in Los Angeles. A magnificent Le Pin, deep garnet/ruby in colour. The nose has the clarity of crisp spring morning with notes of red fruits, violets, minerals, gravel and just a hint of dark chocolate that I have not picked up before. This is more Burgundian than I recall. The full-bodied has a velvety smooth entry and then you are gob-smacked by the concentration married with poise and tension. If anything, this 2005 has put on weight over the year with layers of strawberry, black plum, blueberry and cassis. The finish has a firm grip, a Pomerol that says: “don’t mess with me”. A tremendous wine that I am certain will continue to get better and better with passing years. 550 cases made. Drink 2015-2030+ Tasted November 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Le Pin 2005 has a very sweet, candied bouquet that actually reminds me slightly of a Super-Tuscan, not in a bad way either. It is a complex set of aromas that bring to mind a burlesque: red cherries, soy, undergrowth, a sprig of heather and lavender. As usual it is one of the most opulent, lascivious Pomerols on the nose and returning to my glass over ten minutes it unfurls with careless abandon. The palate is medium-bodied with fine silky tannins. But it does not quite deliver the same sophistication on the second half that is quite linear, touches of coffee and marmalade with a hint of aniseed on the finish. This is a delicious, quite mercurial Le Pin that you could broach now, though I would prefer to leave it another three or four years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 Le Pin is a very pretty wine, perhaps a bit more floral and savory and less opulent than it often is. Crushed raspberry, wild flowers, mint and dried herbs all lift from the glass effortlessly. Like most of its peers, the 2005 needs several hours of aeration to be at its best. It is an especially gracious, translucent wine that stands apart stylistically from the typically richer wines that have been made here.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Pomerol Comparative Exploration tasting in London, the 2005 Le Pin has never quite lived up to the billing when compared to other vintages from Jacques Thienpont's iconic Pomerol estate, yet that is begrudging what is still a gorgeous wine. It remains very youthful and limpid in colour. The bouquet is much more Burgundian than I anticipated with raspberry coulis and wild strawberry scents, fine mineralité and poise. With time there is more blue fruit emerging. The palate is sweet and candied on the entry, plush and sensual; saturated tannin with impressive depth. You feel that perhaps it just egged on a little too much in the winery at the expense of some sophistication and delineation. However, in terms of pure pleasure it is a delicious wine, albeit one with a hefty price tag.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, licorice, tobacco, iron, minerals and flowers. Densely packed, juicy and floral if a bit youthfully musclebound; lovely minerality here. Finishes tight and long, with some oak yet to be absorbed. Today I don't find this wine's normal exuberance but then it's in cuve today and in a rather compressed state. By the way, Thienpont lists 2001, 1998, 1994 and 1990 as his favorite vintages for Le Pin.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Full medium ruby. Cassis, blackberry, violet, bitter chocolate and spices on the nose; smells like a grand cru from Vosne-Romanee. Wonderfully sweet and stylish; dense but with superb energy. Today the finish shows strong torrefaction notes of chocolate, coffee and black licorice, but my experience is that Le Pin takes a while to absorb its oak. The IPT here is a rather full 75 but the wine impresses more for its sweetness than its structure.
About the Producer
Le Pin is the most expensive wine in the world. Jacques Thienpont purchased the meagre 1.6 hectares of land for one million francs in 1979. The Thienpoints named their wine Le Pin after a solitary pine tree that shaded the property. By acquiring tiny adjoining plots of land, Jacques has doubled the size of Le Pin to five acres. The south-facing vineyard on a well-drained slope of gravel and sand is planted with Merlot (about 92%), and a small amount of Cabernet Franc. Le Pin's soil is a mixture of gravel and clay with a little sand and is exceptionally low yielding (between 30 to 35 hl/hc). The grapes are hand-harvested and are fermented in stainless steel before being matured in`200%` new oak barriques for between 14 and 18 months. Dany Rolland, wife of cult-oenologist Michel Rolland, is a consultant here. Le Pin produces just 600 to 700 cases each year (Lafite Rothschild produces approximately 29,000 cases of wine a year and and Pétrus about 4,000) and its rarity is one of the driving forces behind its high prices. Le Pin produces super-concentrated, decadent, lush and lavishly oaked wines - they can be drunk young but are best with 7-10 years of bottle ageing.
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